WAC 388-444-0030 Work requirements for persons who are able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDS).
Clients who are age eighteen to fifty and have no dependents must, unless exempt, participate in specific employment and training activities to receive food assistance.
Nonexempt clients who fail to participate are eligible for no more than three months of food assistance in a thirty-six month period.
Except as provided in WAC 388-444-0035, a person is not eligible to receive food assistance for more than three full months in the thirty-six month period beginning January 1, 1997 unless that person:
Works at least twenty hours a week averaged monthly; or
Participates in and complies with the requirements of a work program for twenty hours or more per week; or
Participates in a workfare program as provided in WAC 388-444-0040.
Refugee Pathway to Self-Sufficiency Program for Refugee cash assistance (RCA) clients;
The Matching Grant Program for newly-arrived refugees or similarly classified immigrants; and
Workfare or other employment and training programs.
For more information about the Matching Grant Program for refugees, see WAC 388-466-0120, Clarifying Information #4.
NOTE:
RCA participants in the Self-Sufficiency Program are considered students in the program. The number of participant hours are determined by the program
The Refugee Social Worker must develop a Personal Employment Plan (PEP) with the client.
36-Month Period
The 36-month time limit begins January 1, 2006 and ends December 31, 2008. Another 36-month period will begin January 1, 2009.
NOTE:
ABAWDs and households that contain ABAWDs receive a six-month certification as described under WAC 388-416-0005, but they cannot receive more than three full months of benefits without meeting the ABAWD work requirements.
WORKER RESPONSIBILITIES
When an ABAWD has received benefits in a nonexempt area of another state, these benefits count against the three-month limit. If you learn that an ABAWD has received benefits in a non-exempt area of another state:
Verify with that state the number of months the ABAWD has received benefits without participating in work requirements; and
Document the information.
If the information from the other state is incorrect, it will not be a Quality Control error.
WAC 388-444-0035
WAC 388-444-0035
Effective November 6, 2002
WAC 388-444-0035 When am I (abled-bodied adult with no dependents) exempt from ABAWD provisions.
Some food assistance household members are exempt from ABAWD provisions. You are exempt from the ABAWD rules provided in 388-444-0030 if you are:
Under eighteen or fifty years of age or older;
Determined to be physically or mentally unable to work;
A member of a household with responsibility for a person determined to be incapacitated;
An adult in a household that has a member who is under the age of eighteen, even when the child is an ineligible household member;
Pregnant;
Living in an area approved as exempt by U.S. Department of Agriculture;
Complying with the work requirements of an employment and training program under temporary assistance for needy families (TANF);
Applying for or receiving unemployment compensation;
Students enrolled at least half time as defined by the institution in:
Any accredited school; or
Training program; or
Institution of higher education. A student enrolled in higher education must follow the student criteria defined in chapter 388-482 WAC.
Participating in a chemical dependency treatment program; or
Employed a minimum of thirty hours per week or receiving weekly earnings which equal the minimum hourly rate multiplied by thirty hours;
Eligible for one of the annual federal-approved exemption slots under what is called the fifteen percent exemption rule.
All adults in a household with a member under age 18 are exempt from the ABAWD provisions, regardless of theadult’s responsibility for the care of the child.
Personal exemptions apply in both exempt and non-exempt areas.
NOTE:
See Appendix I for a complete list of counties and other areas that are exempt from ABAWD requirements.
The priority for an exemption is:
First, any personal exemption the ABAWD may have, even if the person currently lives in an exempt area. These include:
"CA" - Caretaker;
"DR" - Drug/Alcohol Treatment;
"EM" - Employed at least 30 hours per week;
"FD" - Physically or Mentally Unfit for Employment; and
"PR" - Pregnancy.
If the ABAWD does not have a personal exemption and they live in an exempt area, use the "EA" exempt reason code.
ABAWDs living in Snohomish county must be coded as AB with a Work Status code of SW on the ACES WORK screen until September 30, 2008.
Clients who are not exempt must register for work regardless of where they live. Depending on where they live, they may also need to meet participation requirements. Clients living in:
An exempt area:
A non-exempt area:
Are not required to meet ABAWD work requirements while they live in an exempt area.
Must meet ABAWD requirements to stay eligible for Basic Food.
As shown in Appendix III, FS E&T services are only provided in King, Snohomish and Whatcom Counties at this time.
Moving Between Non-Exempt and Exempt Areas
If an ABAWD moves to an exempt area, the person becomes exempt from ABAWD work requirements.
If an ABAWD moves from an exempt to a non-exempt area during the 36-month period, they must meet ABAWD work requirements or have a personal exemption from ABAWD requirements. The three-month period starts with the first full month of benefits.
If a client has previously used months during the same 36-month period, those months of non-participation still count toward the three-month limit.
Moving between exempt and non-exempt areas does not restart the 3-out-of-36 month clock.
The months stop or start based on the exemption for the area where the person now lives.
If an ABAWD loses eligibility for Basic Food due to the three-month limit and later moves to an exempt area, they are eligible to receive Basic Food while living in any exempt area.
WORKER RESPONSIBILITIES
Verifying a Personal Exemption
Accept a client's statement of employment status or job availability unless it is questionable.
To verify questionable information have the client provide:
Proof of the claimed exemption; or
An acceptable collateral source who we can contact for further verification.
If a client claims to be physically or mentally unable to work, verify the claim when questionableby:
Proof of permanent disability benefits issued by a public or private source; or
A statement from a doctor, licensed or certified psychologist, nurse, nurse practitioner, designated representative in a doctor's office, or any other medical personnel that is appropriate.
If the client is not able to verify their claim for an exemption, make a decision using the available information that is in the client's case file. Document your decision on the exemption.
If a client is sent for a GAU determination, the client is exempt from ABAWD requirements until the determination is made. If the client is denied GAU:
Review the reason for denial. Even though the client may not be eligible for GAU, the client may still be eligible for an exemption.
If the client is not eligible for an exemption they are required to participate in work requirements. Send a notice to the client giving 10 days advance notice that they must participate. Participation is required the first of the month following the end of the 10-day advance notice.
EXAMPLE
On March 14th, you review a person's denial for GAU and determine that the person is an ABAWD who does not qualify for the FD exemption. You send them a letter on March 15th to inform them that they must meet ABAWD work requirements to remain eligible for Basic Food. Since the letter provides at least 10 days notice before the beginning of the next full month, you tell them in the letter that they must start meeting the work requirements on April 1st.
WAC 388-444-0040
WAC 388-444-0040
Effective April 10, 1999
WAC 388-444-0040 Work programs for ABAWDs in the Food Stamp Employment and Training Program.
Work programs are available to clients eighteen to fifty years of age who are able to work and have no dependents.
The following are considered work programs:
Workfare consists of:
Thirty days of job search activities in the first month beginning with the first day of application or sixteen hours of volunteer work with a public or private nonprofit agency; and
In subsequent months, sixteen hours per month of volunteer work with a public or private nonprofit agency allows the client to remain eligible for food stamps. Workfare is not enforced community service or for paying fines or debts due to legal problems.
Work experience (WEX) is supervised, unpaid work for at least twenty hours a week. the work must be for a nonprofit agency or governmental or tribal entity. this work is to improve the work skills of the client.
On-the-job training (OJT) is paid employment for at least twenty hours a week. It is job training provided by an employer at the employer's place of business and may include some classroom training time.
A client is not required to participate in a work program and paid work for more than a total of thirty hours a week.
The department may pay for some of a client's actual expenses needed for the client to participate in work programs. Standards for paying expenses are set by the department.
Workfare is available to non-exempt ABAWDs only. The activity is not available to non-ABAWDs since ABAWDs are limited to only three months of benefits without participating in work, job search, or a work program.
ABAWDs can combine work and work programs to fulfill the 20 hour per week requirement.
Determine if the ABAWD has good cause for not being able to work the required hours to be exempt. Good cause may include but is not limited to:
Illness;
Illness of another household member that requires the help of the ABAWD;
A household emergency; or
Unavailability of transportation.
ABAWD Work Programs
Workfare includes unpaid work in the community and participation in FS E&T pilot project.
Self-directed unpaid work in the community - ABAWDS can meet their work requirement by performing 16 hours a month of volunteer work for a non-profit organization.
Workfare is unpaid work performed by an ABAWD for a public or private non-profit organization.
An ABAWD may volunteer at any non-profit agency that agrees to provide volunteer work opportunities for ABAWDS to meet their work requirements.
Non-profit agencies have agreed to verify that the person has met the 16-hour a month requirement for us not to count a month against the three-month limit. We will request verification of participation:
At recertification; and
Before issuing benefits beyond the three countable months.
The workfare nonprofit agencies will notify us when a participant is no longer meeting the required hours.
Transportation costs to meet ABAWD requirements: We can authorize payment of transportation costs using eJAS following directions in the WorkFirst Handbook and eJAS Support Services Handbook. (Only persons who are authorized access to the DSHS Intranet will be able to open this site. All other users will receive an http 404 error - page unavailable.)
Monitoring
If a client fails to participate in the month:
Record on the ACES WORK Screen the month and year of non-participation under the appropriate 1st, 2nd or 3rd month. ACES will automatically terminate the case when the third date is entered.
Terminate benefits to clients who have regained eligibility but failed to participate.
Send a termination letter with an explanation as to how to regain eligibility.
WAC 388-444-0045
WAC 388-444-0045
Effective April 16, 1999
WAC 388-444-0045 Regaining eligibility for food assistance
A client who is ineligible for food assistance because that client has exhausted the three-month limit in WAC 388-444-0030, can regain eligibility by:
Working eighty hours or more during a thirty-day period;
Participating in and complying with a work program for eighty hours or more during a thirty-day period; or
Participating in and complying with the community service part of a workfare program; or
Meeting any of the work requirements in (a) through (d) of this subjection in the thirty days after an application for benefits has been filed.
A client who regains eligibility for food assistance under subsection (1) of this section is eligible from the day of application and as long as the requirements of WAC 388-444-0030 are met.
If otherwise eligible, a client who regains eligibility under the provision of subsection (1) of this section may receive an additional three-consecutive months of food assistance when the client:
Loses employment; or
Loses the opportunity to participate in a work program.
The provisions in subsection (3) of this section are allowed only once in the thirty-six month period.
If a client exhausts the 3-out-of-36 months eligibility limit, we must terminate the person's Basic Food benefits as soon as we become aware of this information. We must also deny this person Basic Food at application or recertification if they do not have a personal exemption and they do not live in an exempt area.
If a client is not eligible because the client does not participate, the person is an ineligible household member. We count this person's income to any remaining persons in the Basic Food Assistance unit as described under WAC 388-450-0140. How does the income of an ineligible assistance unit member affect my eligibility and benefits for food assistance?
Regaining Eligibility
There isn't any limit to the number of times a client can regain eligibility. To regain eligibility a client must perform one of the following:
Complete 80 hours of training within a 30-day period;
Work 80 hours in a 30-day period; or
Participate Workfare for 16 hours in a month or at a minimum, the number of Workfare hours required based on the benefit amount on the reconciliation chart.
If a client does not receive the maximum food assistance allotment and has participated in Workfare for less than 16 hours in a month, the client may be considered complying with the work requirementsas follows:
This chart is based on the state minimum wage of $7.63 an hour effective January 1, 2006.
Food Stamp Benefits
Workfare Hours
Food Stamp Benefits
Workfare Hours
$1 - 15
1
$69 - 76
9
$16 - 22
2
$77 - 83
10
$23 - 30
3
$84 - 91
11
$31 - 38
4
$92 - 99
12
$39 - 45
5
$100 - 106
13
$46 - 53
6
$107 - 114
14
$54 - 61
7
$115 - 122
15
$62 - 68
8
$123 - 155
16
EXAMPLE
The client completes 14 Workfare hours and the client's computed food assistance benefit is $108. According to the chart, the client has worked enough volunteer hours to be eligible for the benefits since the range for 14 hours is $107 - $114 in benefits.
Eligibility for a Second 3-month period for ABAWDs
This section only refers to those ABAWDs who are eligible for a second three-month period as described in WAC 388-444-0045(1) & (3). If an ABAWD becomes eligible for a second 3-month period the 3 months are consecutive months. A partial month of benefits does not count toward this second 3-month period. The client receives this second 3-month period whether or not the client is participating in work requirements.
If the ABAWD cannot use the additional 3-month eligibility period due to a disqualification, the ABAWD may work another 80 hours in a 30-day period again to become eligible for the second 3-month period.
WORKER RESPONSIBILITIES
At the time of application, if the client has regained eligibility, and is otherwise eligible for Basic Food:
Remind them of the availability of self-directed workfare and inform them of agencies that have indicated a willingness to accept volunteer work; and
Certify the case for Basic Food.
At the time of application, if the client has not regained eligibility:
Allow the case to remain pending;
Inform them that they can regain eligibility through self-directed workfare; and
Provide them with information about agencies that have indicated a willingness to accept volunteer work.
If the client does not regain eligibility during the 30-day application period, deny the application or:
In a single member household, close the case, or
In an opened Basic Food case, consider the person an ineligible household member.
If the applicant completes the 16 hours of Workfare within the 30-day application period, follow the procedures in (1) of this section.
Once the requirements for regaining eligibility are met:
The client with a closed Basic Food case may, if otherwise eligible, receive benefits from the date of the application, or
The client in an open Basic Food case, if otherwise eligible, is added back to the household following WAC 388-418-0020, How the department determines the date a change affects the benefit level.
